


QuaranTEA

by xseelenfrieden



Series: Zukka Week 2021 [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Sokka is very smart but also a dumbass, Tea shop AU, Zukka Week 2021, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, background kataang, background yueki, but make it quarantine, really proud of the pun pls tell me im the first one to use it lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 01:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30081162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xseelenfrieden/pseuds/xseelenfrieden
Summary: Sokka was pretty sure that the universe absolutely despised him. His knee was acting up again, the world was fighting a global virus (that had rendered his social life practically dead), but most importantly: The cute server from the tea shop had suddenly stopped delivering his orders to his front door.Yeah, it was hopeless.Zukka Week Day 3 - Tea or Coffee Shop
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Zukka Week 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2213274
Comments: 14
Kudos: 79





	QuaranTEA

**Author's Note:**

> My first entry!
> 
> So I spent way too much time working on some of the other prompts (some of which I didn't even finish lol), that I wrote this one very fast, because I really liked the whole concept and wanted to get it done on time. (Also the title couldn't go to waste like this)
> 
> I hope it's not too noticable, but here you go! 
> 
> Tell me what you think and enjoy! :)

“…And the worst thing is… I don’t even know his name! I literally have no way to even try to contact him… Kataraaa, what should I do?”

“So, let me get this straight: You just found out about a new teashop in town, which, coincidentally, also had a ‘super cute server’ working there?”

“Yes.”

“Then you spent WEEKS going there without talking to him once – except for ordering a new cup of tea.”

“… Yes?”

“And now, you are having a breakdown because everything, including the teashop, is closed and the guy you like somehow doesn’t do the delivery anymore and you have already ordered _way_ too much tea, just in hopes of seeing him again?”

“Yes…”

“Ugh, sometimes I can’t believe that I’m actually related to you…”

* * *

Obviously, it hadn’t come out of nowhere. There had been lots of reports of other countries, other cities even, going into lockdown, trying to keep the personal social interaction to a minimum.

Still, it somehow had come as a surprise to Sokka, when suddenly the city where he lived had done so as well. From one day to the other, everything was closed and Sokka was stuck staring holes in his ceiling as he lay in bed, thinking about what he should do – what he _could_ do.

He missed going out so damn much. Especially meeting his friends, at a café or bar, all together, without having to keep a certain amount of distance between them. But now, most cafés didn’t even offer small gatherings between two households, so even that was out of the question.

At least, he wasn’t completely alone.

From time to time, he went to annoy his sister – and her still surprisingly energetic and optimistic boyfriend – at their place. Most of the time, they were stuck backing some sort of cake or bread that Aang had come up with or read about online. Or watching some incredible corny Netflix movies. Yikes.

Those were the times, where Katara basically shoved him out of the apartment, telling him to find someone else to pester with his growing boredom and unwillingness to start the new semester, if it meant all of the classes were online.

Yeah, it was probably alright, but he missed hanging out with the other students after lectures and during class. It just wasn’t the same.

If he was lucky, Suki and Yue would decide to have mercy and pay him a visit at his lonely, single bedroom apartment. At least they weren’t as enthusiastic about cheesy rom-coms like Aang and Katara, but rather arrived with some snacks and drinks to spend the night with a marathon of one of their favourite shows.

But, in the end, they would leave as well, which always reminded him of his reality: He was a lonely, frustrated physics student in his third year, that had no idea what to do with his time, other than do some extra work for his classes or set up some crazy experiments that weren’t even mandatory. At least it got him something to do. Even if it meant having an oversized pendulum swing right above his bed, almost hitting the books off his shelves. It was better than nothing.

However, Sokka could deal with that. He knew that a lot of people his age were stuck feeling the exact same way right now. So, that was not why he felt so miserable.

The real tragedy was far worse.

It had all started maybe a month ago, when he had first set foot in a newly discovered tea shop, just next to his campus.

_The Jasmine Dragon._ It had a nice ring to it, Sokka had thought, so why not give it a try?

The tea was amazing, he had noticed with delight! They obviously had the usual flavours ready to serve, but what really got him were the unique ones, that the owner seemed to invent and mix himself. His favourite was called ‘Breath of fire’. It had just the right combination of spices, without making it to spicy for his – he had to admit – rather delicate taste buds.

Delicious tea was one thing. An amazing cup of tea was bound to have him coming back at least once a week. What had changed that to once a _day_ was the absolute _hottie_ that always worked behind the counter.

He had looked a little bit grumpy at first, always letting the hair that was not held up by his loose bun hang in front of his face (probably to partly cover up the angry, red scar that stretched over nearly half his face), but somehow, Sokka had always managed to get him to smile at him. Without even doing anything. He had to be a natural at charming cute guys, he thought.

True to his principles, Sokka had been planning to keep acting as aloof as possible, not signalling his growing interest and finally going for it when the time felt right.

But like so often, the universe had not been on his side. They had basically decided to temporarily close all restaurants and cafés overnight. Or so it had appeared to Sokka.

And damn that guy for not once wearing a name tag of some sort. All he had to go off was: pretty boy, probably around his age, long, black hair, a scar and striking black eyes that complimented his pale skin.

He had thought that maybe these features would be enough, so that he could ask around and see if anyone knew him.

But even Aang had claimed to have never seen or heard from a person like that. Sokka wasn’t sure if he was being honest, or just playing with him (Because, seriously, Aang was so popular, he knew just about _anyone_ ). He seriously hoped it was the former… If not, his sister’s boyfriend was in some serious trouble.

The only person he had yet to ask was Toph. But it wasn’t like she paid a lot of attention to appearances. Not only because she physically could not, but also because she just didn’t seem to care. You could tell her that Sokka had been sporting a bright pink mullet since elementary school and she probably would have believed you.

So, no. Asking Toph wasn’t gonna get him any closer to the mysterious server. To be honest, she would just take the chance to make fun of him and Sokka already had his sister to fill that role, thank you very much.

But… there had been a silver lining after all.

The salvation had come in the form of a flyer that the randomly discovered being shoved into his and his neighbours’ mailboxes. He had not been able to believe his eyes as he read the name of the café the flyer was from: _The Jasmine Dragon_.

* * *

It had been easy enough. Since they could no longer serve any customers directly, the _Jasmine Dragon_ had decided to create a sort of tea delivering service, for anyone who missed their special blends during quarantine and lockdown. So Sokka had just called one time and ordered three different blends that he enjoyed a lot. Ever since being stuck at home, the need to start the day with a hot cup of _something_ had increased tremendously. And he was already drinking way too much coffee, so tea would be a good alternative either way.

When the bell finally rang, Sokka sprung up from his bed and immediately raced to the front of his apartment to open the door.

His excitement was justified.

There he was! Right in front of him stood the cute tea server, dressed in casual clothes and without the uniform and apron of course.

Well, he didn’t exactly stand right in front of his door. More like a reasonable distance away, having put the bag likely containing his order right on his door mat.

Sokka eyed the order and then looked up to give the other guy his most charming smile. It had even worked on Suki once, so it should work again, right?

“Thanks!”, Sokka continued to smile encouragingly as he crouched down to pick up the bag.

“Man, I can’t believe that I’ll finally get to drink ‘ _Breath of fire_ ’ again. Didn’t know how much I’d missed it.”

But somehow, the boy just looked at him once, suddenly went red in the face and then instead opted to stare at his feet.

He shuffled a bit in place and then murmured: “Enjoy your tea.”

And he was off.

Sokka could not believe his eyes. He just stood there for a moment, still clutching the bag in his hands, mouth open and looking to where the mysterious guy had just disappeared behind a corner.

Desperately hoping he hadn’t waited too long, he threw the tea into his apartment and started to chase after the guy, rounding the corner and making his way down the stairs.

“Wait!”, he shouted into the empty stairwell, even though he probably couldn’t hear him anymore.

When he arrived at the front door, panting, he ripped it open and started searching for any sign where he could’ve gone. But nothing.

Damn it. He really thought he had him there. It had been just the two of them. It had been _perfect_.

Letting out a long sigh, he finally decided to go back inside.

That was when he noticed that the universe wasn’t done fucking with him.

Stepping into the corridor that led to the staircase, a sudden pain shot up his left leg and he almost fell down, if not for the row of mailboxes being there to catch himself on.

He should’ve known better than to run after him like that. It had already been a few months since his knee injury, but he knew (and the doctor and Katara had told him so _several_ times) that it would take at least another half a year for everything to heal properly.

But he had chosen to actively ignore that fact and now look were it got him…

Feeling rejected and having to grasp the railing for support, he limped up the stairs. When he finally arrived at his door, he was glad to find it still open. He could really go without having to phone Katara because he had locked himself out again.

He saw that the tea was still sitting in the entrance to his apartment and, feeling overcome with sudden anger at everything and nothing, he pulled back his _left_ leg, that was still hanging in the air, and brought it down onto his door in a harsh kick.

Which, yeah… Was probably not his greatest moment.

Noticing his mistake only a second to late, he immediately got what he probably deserved, as he shouted at the sudden and growing pain in his knee that was now cursing through his whole body.

Muttering angry curses at whoever was responsible for this mess (not him, certainly not him) he managed to close the door behind himself and stumble over to his bed.

Falling onto it, he propped up his leg and sighed when the pain started to decline a bit. 

He continued moping and staring at the ceiling until he felt the sun starting to set outside his window. Sighing, he got up and limped into the kitchen to at least make use of all that tea he now owned.

Sitting on his bed again, he let the spicy and calming flavour wash down his throat as he looked outside at the orange horizon.

* * *

The cute guy didn’t come again and Sokka was in absolute despair.

He had now spent way too much money on ordering all different sorts of tea, but… nothing.

As he sipped on his second cup of tea of the day at only 10 am, he tried to understand what had driven him to such lengths. Sure, the server was really cute and he would really, _really_ like to know his name and number and maybe also ask him out on a ~~date~~ walk in the park, so they could get to know each other, but… This was extreme, even for him.

Over the last few weeks, his shelves had started to fill up with about thirty to forty different packs of tea. He was slowly but surely running out of space and the guy _still_ hadn’t shown up again once!

In his place, there was usually a girl about their age with long, brown hair and a kind smile. She seemed nice enough, so he was especially sorry for the disappointed look he probably gave her every time he opened the door.

One time, he had felt a glimmer of hope as he opened the door and saw the same black hair that he was missing right in front of his apartment. Except, it hadn’t belonged to him, but rather to a younger girl that had scowled at his surprised expression and tapped her foot in an annoyed way as she told him to “Just collect the damn tea!”.

Yeah, he was glad that this girl had only come once.

And as if it wasn’t enough, uni had also started to pick up again and he was already dreading the exams that were only a couple of days away. Because of the lockdown, he did have more time to study, which however didn’t mean that he actually made use of that in a productive way.

That was why he told himself, to just let it go for now after another failed delivery attempt. He needed to focus on his papers and exams that were coming up. The cute guy could come after that, it wasn’t like he had been very successful in hunting him down either way…

He managed to actually get some stuff done and did pretty good on his first few exams. Sokka was feeling great and surprisingly optimistic about his last one that was just three days away. He had prepared his notes beforehand and just needed to revise them a few times and then this semester would be OVER!

But, like so many times before, the universe wasn’t his friend. Or so he thought.

The exam was in two days and he was just getting ready to go over his notes another time when he noticed the catastrophe.

Having not ordered anything from the Jasmine Dragon in two weeks, the mountains of tea in his apartment had not only decreased quite a bit, but he had also run out of some of his favourite flavours. Especially the _Breath of Fire_!

Sure, he could do without it for a few days and just order more when his exams were done, but this special blend had always helped him concentrate a lot. And he had some kind of unnatural craving for it right now, which he knew could be taken care of by just a quick phone call.

Having made his decision, he picked up his phone, ordered two packets of _Breath of Fire_ , and then just waited for his order to arrive. It usually only took them about half an hour, since his apartment was that far away from campus.

His doorbell rang and Sokka got up to collect his tea.

He opened his door. And promptly forgot how to breathe. Eyes wide open, he felt his jaw drop. Surely he must've looked absolutely ridiculous in that moment, but that didn't matter right now.

"Hey," the cute server gave him an awkward wave with his right hand.

The situation looked exactly like their first delivery many weeks ago. He stood leaning against the wall across from Sokka's apartment. His hair was gathered in a high ponytail with a few strands hanging in front of his face. A shy smile on his lips, he gestured vaguely to where Sokka was standing.

"Your tea's here."

Oh, right. The tea.

Only at that moment Sokka noticed that he probably had been caught staring quite strangely at the boy in front of him.

Way to make him feel extra uncomfortable... Well done, he thought to himself and shook his head.

Forcing a smile which he hoped was as charming as the one he had presented the first time, Sokka replied: "Thanks, man! I was getting really desperate here. Just noticed I ran out of my favourite blend... You honestly saved my life right now." Laughing, he raised one hand to scratch at his neck.

And there it was again! That cute blush! Sokka mentally patted himself on the shoulder.

"Oh," the guy said, "Well, I'm glad that I could help you out. Although it's my uncle who comes up with all of the blends. So, really, it's all his doing."

"But you came up and brought it to me, didn't you? That already makes you basically my personal hero.", Sokka smirked as the other's blush started to deepen.

"I'm Sokka by the way.", he raised his hand in greeting and gave a little wave himself.

"I know", laughed the other boy and gestured towards his bag - where his contact details were written onto a piece of paper that hung at the side. Well, damn, talk about being smooth.

But Sokka apparently had managed to not screw up too badly, because the laugh was immediately followed by: "I'm Zuko."

"Nice to meet you!", Sokka leaned against his doorframe in a way tat he hoped would look kind of cool and make up for his total dumbassery of before.

"You too", ~~the cute server~~ Zuko smiled and started to look around, "I'm really sorry, this is probably so rude, but I really need to get going. I have some other orders to deliver this morning..." He already turned as if to leave.

"Wait!", Sokka shouted (probably way too loudly for this empty hallway they were standing in) and took a step forward, barely missing the bag of tea on his door mat.

Zuko turned back around to look at him curiously, and also relieved, as if he had hoped that this would happen.

"Yes?"

"Why did you stop delivering the tea?"

Oh shit. Sokka had not meant to ask him just outright like _that_. But he had panicked and he needed Zuko to stay here longer, so... He had just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

Zuko raised one eyebrow at him (his only one, Sokka noticed), but stayed nonetheless and leaned back against the wall.

"Well, I didn't really just stop. Just, you know, uni was picking up again and there were lots of exams coming up for me... My uncle basically had to force me to take a break for a few weeks so that I could focus on my studies..."

Of course, Sokka thought and had the sudden urge to slap himself. It had even been the same for him, how could he have been so blind?

But Zuko wasn't finished yet. 

"So yeah... but wait", he looked up and stared at Sokka with a weirdly teasing grin on his face, "You actually noticed I was gone? Were you waiting for me?"

"Umm...", Quick, he had to think of something fast. Sokka had no desire to embarrass himself yet again. But... when he looked into those eyes, suddenly every smart and causal answer to that question seemed to escape his mind, so he just settled for the blatant truth.

"Maybe? I was kind of looking forward to talking with you like this. If you know what I mean. Please don't take this in the creepy kind of way! I'm not like that, I swear!"

Ok, so maybe Sokka was getting desperate. But he really didn't want to ruin this one chance of getting to know Zuko better. And... surprisingly it seemed to work.

Zuko was clutching his stomach as he suddenly burst out laughing.

"Sureee..."

And Sokka had no other choice but to start laughing as well. This was better than scaring him off, right? He still had a chance, right? 

When they both had caught their breath, Sokka gathered all his courage for one final question.

"Okay, I promise I won't keep you here any longer", he started and shuffled in place awkwardly, "But I just have one last question for you, alright?"

Zuko nodded and smiled encouragingly.

A warmth spread through Sokka's chest.

"Great! So, Zuko, look. I have an important exam in two days and should probably be studying and I know that there isn't much to do right now, and we need to generally keep our distance and everything..." He took a deep breath. "But... Would you maybe do me the honour of accompanying me for a walk in the park in perhaps... a few days?"

There. It was out. There was no going back now. Either he scored a date with probably the cutest guy the earth had ever seen... or he just made a complete fool of himself.

(Katara would insist that he already did the latter almost everyday but that wasn't important right now.)

However, apparently his skills were not as bad as he thought.

Zuko had started blushing again - and damn, please never stop blushing like that - and was fidgeting with his fingers until he opened his mouth and said:

"Yes."

Sokka couldn't believe his luck.

"Yeah? Yeah, ok, umm, I mean, great! It's a date then!" At the word "date" his heart started to beat faster yet again and Zuko's blush seemed to deepen as well. "So... See you in front of the Jasmine Dragon in three days at like 3pm?"

3pm was a reasonable time, right? He had cleared the days after his exam, so he could do any time, if Zuko would prefer another one, he could...

"Yeah", Zuko smiled and nodded, "Sounds good."

Ok, great. Everything was going perfect right now.

"Awesome!", Sokka grinned and pushed himself off the doorframe to collect the bag with his tea. Thinking of the tea again reminded him that he was actually supposed to be studying for his exam right now, so he begrudgingly said to Zuko: "I should probably go back to studying. And you still need to deliver all those orders, right? I hope I didn't keep you here for too long. So... See you in three days?"

Zuko sipped his jacket shut and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, see you! I can't wait!" And he was off again.

"Me neither!", Sokka shouted after him, but he had already rounded the corner to the staircase.

Sighing, Sokka finally went back inside and closed the door after himself.

He put away the tea and then let himself fall backwards onto his bed.

Damn it, he had forgotten to ask for his number! Sokka put his hands over his eyes and groaned. But... He did manage to score a date with Zuko! Finally!

He had no idea how this would turn out and if Dating even was an option nowadays with the pandemic and everything going on... But what he knew was that he had probably never felt this happy and giddy at the thought of another person and that he couldn't wait to finally see Zuko again!

Deep inside he somehow knew, that everything would turn out just fine.

It had to.

**Author's Note:**

> Tysm for reading, I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Atla tumblr: [life-happens-wherever](https://life-happens-wherever.tumblr.com)


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